India’s premium, faster train, Shatabdi Express have these facilities, do not operate on long routes, know why

The Shatabdi Express, just like Rajdhani Express, is considered a premium train that is one of the fastest trains. It's speed along with premium facilities has made it one of the most popular trains in India. However, they are made for operating on short and medium distance routes which connect major cities between states. Their short route is meant for convenient travel.  

As the Shatabdi Express are a day train, it starts its journey in the morning or at midday and ends in the evening, returning to its destination the same day. Their optimum speed is around 110–150 km/h (68–93 mph) depending on the infrastructures of kinds of routes. They let passengers complete their journey the same day. Having said this, wonder why Shatabdi do not travel on longer routes, being so efficient and fast? We don't find the Shatabdi Express running between many other long-distance cities.  

Why Shatabdi Express don’t operate on long routes? 

They don’t operate on longer routes because they are meant for traveling between closer regions with few intermediate stops.  It was conceptualized with the aim of traveling between shorter routes as it makes the travel faster, convenient and to complete one journey. The Shatabdi Express was designed for making round trips that could be completed within the same day. Shatabdi has therefore only seats and not sleeper berths.  As the Rajdhani Express served as the premium train for long routes, the Shatabdi Express was introduced for shorter routes. 

Facilities in Shatabdi 

Shatabdi trains are fully air-conditioned, in which passengers can avail its on-board catering. Also provided are onboard entertainment systems which are available in select trains providing content via satellite. As these trains are not like the normal ones, seats have to be booked in advance as there is no option for unreserved travel. Reservations can be made till 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time and the seats will be allocated automatically through the reservation system.